Online Casino Games Get the Nod in New York and New Jersey

Department of Justice decision will soon spark online poker and other gaming legislation.

Online poker and other online games could soon go live in New York, New Jersey, Nevada, California and Illinois.

The DOJ’s decision that the 1961 Wire Act only applies to sports gambling has “opened the floodgates for states to set up online poker laws,” according to Global Gaming Business publisher, Roger Gros.

The legislatures of New York and New Jersey are expected to introduce online poker and other gaming bills in the coming months, while Nevada and California are said to be considering a joint poker room, which would create a huge betting pool worth billions.

“We believe there soon will be enabling legislation in some of these states, which could expand quickly as other states seek to tap into a new revenue source,” wrote Harry Curtis, a gaming analyst with Nomura Securities.

It is thought that interstate poker bets will not pose a problem for state lotteries because of the precedent set by multi-state games like Powerball and Mega Millions.